windows rt

Tomorrow Microsoft will roll out an update to Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 and Windows RT that enables Flash content to run by default. Such a move will ensure websites "just work," something Microsoft says it believes is a key part of improving the experience for customers. Some websites will still have Flash blocked by default, however, due to incompatibility.

It would appear that the Windows RT environment has not quite caught on as fast as Samsung would have liked it to, as more than one report out of Germany this week is saying they've decided to leave the market entirely - or at least in Deutschland. At the moment this will just mean - if substantiated - that the Samsung ATIV Tab RT won't be available through local retailers in Germany. Everywhere else in the world - everywhere else that this device has previously been available, that is - will continue to sell the device as planned.

Originally, a report appeared from Nikkei news stating that Microsoft's Surface would be launching in Japan in March. This was followed up by partial confirmation to the folks over at CNET, with the Microsoft representative confirming that it will be available in the country "soon," but no specific date or time frame was provided. This is concerning the Surface RT, not the Surface Pro.

This week the folks at NVIDIA have revealed their financial results for both the end of the year (2012) and their fourth quarter fiscal 2013, coming in at 7.1% greater revenue this fiscal year than the last. According the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, "this year we did the best work in our company's history" - all $4.28 billion of it (in GAAP annual revenue, that is). And with announcements of such innovations for the company as 4G LTE in their Tegra 4 processors coming up and out this year on products such as Project SHIELD, a hand-held Android/streaming gaming monster, the company has nowhere to go but up.

Earlier today, we reported that Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet is now available in the United States and Canada. Now a few hours later, reports are rolling in showing that the 128GB model is out of stock at many retailers, including Microsoft's online store in the US. Staples and Best Buy are also reported as having no 128GB model stock left.

If you thought the Surface Pro was great, but only if Microsoft decided to shave a few inches off and make the tablet more "mini", you may be in luck. Though the Microsoft Surface RT and the Surface Pro are going to be the mainstay units for the Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems for some time to come, it's been made clear by the company this week that different display sizes are a possibility. At this point it's just a matter of time.

This week the CEO of Nokia Stephen Elop has hinted that they've once again begun considering the possibility of a tablet PC in the near future. This word comes from an interview Elop did with the Australian Financial Review in which he says the company is not announcing a tablet, but is watching the Microsoft Surface tablet specifically to see how the market will respond to Windows 8 in tablet form. Though this is not an official announcement of a tablet being created by Nokia, it does remind us that they've got tablets in mind as a potential future pathway.

One of the most-hacked smartphones in the history of the mobile universe, the HTC HD2, is continuing to get its guts spun as Windows RT (tablet Windows 8) gets pushed to it with full-screen metro-style apps! This hack is a continuation of a project being run by @CotullaCode as mentioned a few weeks ago right here on SlashGear. This smartphone originally ran Windows Phone 6.5 and has since been hacked to run Android, Windows Phone 7, MeeGo, and even oddities such as First PlayStation Emulator for Windows CE.

This week the folks at Microsoft have announced not only the availability of the Surface Pro, but of a new version of the Surface RT, complete with a 64GB edition for the masses. Also announced were a collection of accessories, they joining the Surface RT 64GB party on the 9th of February with three new Surface Touch Cover Limited Editions as well as a Wedge Touch Mouse Surface Edition for your enjoyment. The market for the Surface Windows RT is also being expanded to double that of the places you're able to purchase it today.